- Location
- El Segundo, California
- Workplace
- Onsite
- Type
- Full-time
- Department
- Engineering
- Seniority
- Senior
- Experience
- 9+ years
- Education
- PhD
- Source
- RecruiterFlow
Description
We're looking for a Senior Optical Design Engineer to take true end-to-end ownership of critical optical subsystems—from first sketch and simulation, through prototyping and test, all the way to production hardware flying on mission-critical platforms. This isn't a role where you hand off your design and wait to hear how it went. You'll be in the lab aligning it, in the design review defending it, and in the field watching it perform.
If you want your optics work to matter—not just on paper, but in systems that ship—this is that role.
What This Role Owns
Lead the design, modeling, and tolerance analysis of complex multi-element optical systems, from concept through final releaseDevelop and validate optical architectures for laser-based and imaging systems• Own optical performance budgets and run trade studies across SWaP, cost, reliability, and manufacturability, balancing physics with what's actually buildable
Build, test, and troubleshoot prototypes through flight and production hardware, hands-on
Partner across disciplines - Systems, Electrical, Mechanical, and Manufacturing - to ensure clean system integration
Drive technical design reviews and mentor junior optical engineers, shaping both the technical outcome and the next generation of optical talent on the team
Support the transition of optical designs from R&D into production, closing the gap between "it works in the lab" and "it works at scale"
Candidate Profile
Must-Haves
9+ years of experience in optical design, with direct work in nanophotonics, metasurface design, or optical phased arraysBackground in optical compute, laser communications, or 4D lidar, or a closely adjacent field
Strong laser system and laser-based architecture experience
Hands-on experience taking optical designs from prototype through production
US citizenship with eligibility for clearance
Willing and able to work on-site full time
Bachelor's, Master's, or Ph.D. in Optical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field
Also Great to Have
Experience supporting defense or aerospace programsHands-on experience with optical testing, alignment, and metrology
Prior technical leadership or mentorship experience
Why This Role
You'll have real ownership, real impact, and real hardware to point to. This is a chance to work at the leading edge of optical engineering, on systems that push the boundaries of what's possible in defense and aerospace, surrounded by a team that moves fast, cares deeply about getting the physics right, and wants to build things that actually fly.Skills
Prototyping
